Yippeee ! Long Weekend !

I will be paid tonight at midnight. The paystub came in the mail yesterday and I know that the deposit will be $200 larger than before!

Around the house I cleaned the kitchen and bath floors lastnight and I washed the whites. All that really needs to be done is scrub the shower, make my bed, and run the vacuum.

Since it is the first of the month, I will have to put the flea and tick medicine on Buddy. That means he can't go swimming or have a bath for the next five days.

The space shuttle is scheduled to liftoff tomorrow afternoon around 3:40 pm. I have seen the rockets go up, but I have never gone to the Cape to watch one. I will leave Buddy home because it will be too hot for him outside and the noise will be too much for his ears. I will take my camera with me and try to make a short movie of the launch.

The other thing that MUST happen soon is a trip to the grocer. I am not completely out of food, but all of the good stuff is gone and I am out of bottled water. Need to stockpile canned goods incase of bad weather - a literal "rainy day". I need to replenish some of my vitamins too.

Aside from those things, I need to test run my emergency generator, shop for some fabric to make a cover for it, make the cover, and just hang out in the house and read.

Orlando, FL

Well, it appears that Blogger's photo upload mechanism is fucked again. I tried three times to upload a picture of Buddy riding in the truck from last weekend, but it isn't working.

We learned on Tuesday that FER will be closed on Monday, July 3 as well as the 4th for Independence Day. I toyed with the idea of putting the crate in the bed of the truck, and driving with Buddy up to Wilmington, but it is still too hot to travel with the dog. Besides, after what he did at Petco lastnight, do I want to chance him pissing on Mom's new carpet in her new house?

Fay was excused from jury duty, but she did not find this out until 3:30 pm.

Today I stayed continuously busy. Lots of orders to enter. Problems to troubleshoot and get to the factory. Problems to follow up on. Still, it will be a good week for FER - at the end of the day we had processed $403k in Orlando.

This evening after walking the dog I cleaned the kitchen and bathroom floors. I needed to water the plants outside on the balcony too.

I think this weekend I will go to the piece goods store and get some of that thin vinyl material with the felt backing on it -- the same stuff outdoor tablecloths are made from. My sewing machine should be able to handle that stuff. I want to make a dust cover for my new generator. The cover can strap down with a velcro fastener and I want to put a pocket on the cover to hold the operators manual.

Jury Duty

Last night I made chicken steaks with onions and mushrooms with a small can of peas. Left overs went into a Glad container for lunch today.

Buddy and I took an extra long walk this morning. Down MetroWest Blvd to the Walmart at Wilshire Drive. Then we made a right onto Wilshire Drive and went south to Arnold Palmer Drive/Robert Trent Jones Drive back home. Probably about four miles.

Because I knew Fay was going to be out of the office today for jury duty, I took Buddy to the office with me. For the most part he was well-behaved. He jumped up on Debbie when she came in and he jumped up on Craig when he got there. But Craig played with him good and got him worn down some. He went back to laying on the floor eating his rawhide bone.

At lunch I took him over to the Petco store at Millenia. On the way to the store I saw something interesting - the Orlando Fire Department was swarming around a parked Jeep Liberty at the Bear Claw Cafe. Some dumb woman locked her baby in the car on a hot summer's day.

We got more Iam's food, some pigs ears, some ear wipes, more waste bags, and some BilJac liver treats. Buddy really liked the birds! Stood up on his rear legs so he could look in at the birds. He embarassed me by lifting his leg and peeing on an endcap!

The heat was just too much for walking him at lunch, so we only peed him and then went back inside. With just the two of us in the office he was calm and quiet. I think everything went along just fine with Fay out.

This evening I made a Lean Cuisine meal, walked Buddy again, and cleaned Buddy's ears out. He didn't fight me. The only problem was getting him to come to me and put his head on my thigh so I could get started. Once I began he let me do it without moving around. Alot of dark brown filth came out of those ears too!

While reading my email I found out that Kathleen Fritz's 50th birthday was June 19. Jerry was scheduled to be out-of-town, but he was secretly trying to get all of their friends and family to send sympathy birthday cards to Kathleen! LOL!

Orlando, FL

Read to the half-way point in the Petroski book about engineering limits lastnight. I should be able to finish it up by the weekend and move on to the Barbara Ehrenriech book Nickled & Dimed. Looks like a trip to Borders might have to happen soon!

While playing with the dog lastnight I got a big scratch on my left temple - just missed my eye! His claws are kinda sharp! Might have to file those down some.

I slept pretty well lastnight. The alarm clock scared me awake this morning. I turned it off and snoozed for another half hour. Then I got up, scooped my vitamins off of the vanity, peed, turned on the lamp in the living room, said "hi" to Buddy, swallowed my vitamins and ate my morning yogurt. Poured a cup of dog food for Buddy and put fresh water in his bowl. Then went to get him out.

It was partly cloudy and cool this morning. After walking the dog I made two eggs and two slices of Canadian bacon and some cantaloupe for the rest of my breakfast. Then I showered and dressed for work. The dog waits for me right outside the bathroom door.

When I got to the garage, I turned the camera on and the lens immediately fogged up. Did not matter anyway - when I got into the garage, the albino lizard was nowhere to be seen.

Steadily busy at work today. At lunch I went home and made a Lean Cuisine® meal and let Buddy out of the crate. Walked him outside quickly. While we were outside we heard thunder and I could see it getting dark in the south. Back inside I ate my lunch and Buddy ate more Iam's®. I sat down to read for a while and the thunder got louder. Finally it rained and it rained really hard! The windshield fogged up so bad it was tricky driving back to the office. Because of the rain, Fay decided to stay in at lunch.

I remained steadily busy in the afternoon too. The rain stopped after 2 pm and it became light and partly cloudy again. I am sure it is very humid outside.

This evening I am frying some chicken steaks for dinner. I am going to make the French green bean casserole to go with it. Payday is Friday night and I think I will be making a mega-grocery trip on Saturday.

Orlando, FL

Lots of rain today. There is a Low pressure area centered over Florida and it is pulling nasty weather in. This system is supposed to move on up the east coast today though.

When I went out this morning to get into the truck, I saw the albino lizard running along the wall inside my garage again. I will try to get a picture of him next time.

Today was not so bad at the office. Just barely stayed busy though. Fay will be out on Wednesday for jury duty. I wonder why I never get called for that?

It rained hard this afternoon. It go so dark out the outside lights came on! The wind even blew some! I hope Buddy just slept through the storm. At any rate, he likely won't pee in the crate where he has to sleep.

Thinking about going to the yard good store this weekend and looking for some fabric-backed vinyl to make a dust cover for my generator and using the left overs to make a rain coat for Buddy. Just a short coat for his back that I can fasten around his waist with velcro.

The Weekend

The dog got his bath lastnight. He was not happy about it, but he did not freak out. Last time we did this he was trying to climb out of the tub despite the sliding glass doors shut! He just tolerated it this time. He smells so much better now! You don't mind hugging and holding him (not that he's a lap dog).

It thunderstormed today. Buddy noticed the thunder, but he didn't seem scared. I was sitting in my chair reading when I heard water dripping. "Now where is water leaking in from?" The dog ran in from my bedroom. I got up and looked for the leaking water and found a puddle on the floor but a dry ceiling above it - the dog was scared by the thunder and peed on the floor.

I smacked his ass good, rubbed his nose in the puddle, and put him into the crate while I got Nature's Miracle cleaner and the SpotBot out to clean the mess up. Thank God I got that practical spotting machine this spring with my tax refund!

This afternoon I went to Pep Boys to attend their 'Grand Re-Opening Sale'. I got a 3500-watt electric generator (see the picture, but mine is red). It was on sale for $299. I remember how I did without electricity for two weeks after Hurricane Charley and don't want to repeat that. Or if Becky and Bill get hit hard, I can just put it into the bed of the truck and take it up there.

The cashier tried to sell me a one-year warranty for $29 warning me that I only had 30 days to bring it back if anything went wrong. I assured her I would be testing it well within the 30 days. When I got home and read the manual it turns out that it comes with a standard one-year warranty anyway - you call the manufacturer, not the store you purchased it from.

The manufacturer, Wen Products, is based in Indiana, but the generator was made in China. I am sure they have to move their manufacturing there to remain competitive. Hopefully the generator performs well. On payday I am going to get a couple of 5-gallon gas cans too. It runs for 15 hours on 4 gallons.

Cute comment from skinman last night. Mike Foreman called me to ask what was new with me... he completely forgot that we just talked as recently as last Sunday!

For The Mad Commenter, and anyone else who likes them, here are some good links to follow:

• These products will get you past the random drug testing at work. They have thought of everything!
• A cheap, DIY, air conditioner.
• Using an old bicycle inner tube, build your very own water weenie!
• A Fake ID generator for profiles, registrations, and chatrooms!
• A bunny on the runway just escapes getting squashed by a landing Airbus A380!
• I will look for this book the next time I am in Barnes & Noble or Borders.
• A very long paper about ubiquitous computing.
• Norway is constructing The Doomsday Seed Vault.
• Chocolate giant Nestle bought Jenny Craig for $600M... gee... wonder what that was about?
• Evidently my upscale MetroWest neighborhood really is "Greater Pine Hills" due to escalating crime, but a big developer wants to rename it "Veranda Park". Sounds like a retirement community.
• Unsold inventory is rising, prices are falling, we are entering a real estate buyers market. Wait until this winter when the first wave of ARMs reset at higher rates!
• hjsplit is a file splitter for breaking large files apart to email seperately and join together at the destination.
• 450 animal species can't be wrong!

60% chance of rain tonight. Mostly cloudy, but cooler tomorrow. So much for my idea of laying by the pool. I opened up the box with my welder in it today. Although it is a 100-amp welder, it can be plugged into a 20-amp circuit. Yay! Maybe I will set up the table saw tomorrow.

Orlando, FL

Today was the second day of summer and it was HOT !

I was continuously busy at work today too. Lots of orders to process and service issues to handle. FER went over $300k in orders today, so it looks like a good week shaping up.

Before I went, Craig asked me if I wanted to buy lunch for Peggy and Betsy (Ana couldn't make it) and I said, "Not particularly". He tossed $60 down on my desk!

Met Betsy and Peggy at the Cheesecake Factory across I-4 at Millenia Mall. I had a Chinese Chicken Salad. Peggy had a salad. Betsy had the pulled pork sandwich and fries. Mostly caught up and Betsy and Peggy gossipped. Betsy mentioned that she is having lunch with Craig and Kelly Hill next week. She sure eats lunch with vendors frequently!

Buddy had to stay in the crate all day long because I did not have time to go home at lunch.

I brought a slice of pineapple upside-down cheesecake back for Fay. She put it in the refrigerator and took it home. I don't think she ate it.

Craig gave me a copy of a book some guy at Darden recommended. It is called The Restaurant Dream? I just put it on the bottom of the pile of books I still have to read. I will probably get to it by the end of the summer. After I read it I will discuss it with him.

Stayed busy all afternoon too. Almost have everything caught up again. Just a little more filing to do.

When I got home I was surprised to find it dark in the living room. The lightbulb in the lamp burned out and Buddy slept in the dark most of the afternoon I guess. He was happy to get out of the crate, but he is sooo excited and energetic when we begin our walk! By the end of the walk he calms down -- the heat gets to him!

He is starting to smell again. Another bath is going to happen soon.

First Day of Summer

Today was the longest day of the year... and it seemed that way literally too. Just an extremely busy day for me. I am pretty tired now.

Here is a picture of Buddy stretching out on the floor after a long day sleeping in the crate. He stands about four feet tall when he stands on his hind legs.

He knows to sit when I tell him to. He is learning to go to his crate when I tell him to, but I think he still relying on me to point to the crate. We work on it about 5 minutes each night. I made a couple of movies of him lastnight with my digital camera - one of him chasing his tail, and another one of him bouncing around playing and growling. I will try to email them to Mom and Sis soon.

I know I am only supposed to bath him once a month, but he is really starting to smell like dog. I think he's getting a bath soon.

At lunch I got a chef salad to go and came home to let the dog out. He is going to have to stay crated all day tomorrow because I have lunch with Betsy, Peggy, and Ana at Millenia Mall. I know he can hold it.

Slow week for orders $104k upto today. This afternoon, one of our dealers faxed over orders for $191k for a casino project in Mississippi! It might be another good week for FER!

Last Day of Spring

Didn't make it to the gym this morning - was too sore from yesterday! I turned the alarm off shortly before it would have sounded and I fell asleep again. I woke up at 6:15 when I heard the dog whimpering or yawning. Figured he might be crying because he needed to go out, so I quickly got up and got him outside. He needed to pee!

Very busy day again. Lots of phones. Lots of orders, but they are all very small orders. Still, we will take it anyway we can get it!

At lunch I went to Subway and got a BMT and took it home. Buddy is always happy to see me when I come home! Took him outside for a short walk - it was too damned hot for a long walk! He ate almost all of the food I had for him in his bowl. Before he knew it, it was time to get back into the crate.

Stayed continuously busy all afternoon except for the last half hour I found some time to goof off and read the news. After 5:00 I hung out with Craig for another hour and talked. Then I got into my truck to go home. I stopped at Mobil to fill the tank.

In the mail there was only an advertisement from Falcon video. I opened it up because it is fun to look at the glossy color pictures of the "action", then I threw it away because they weren't selling anything I had to have.

Walked Buddy. Vacuumed the floor. Ate cantaloupe for dinner. Now I am blogging while Buddy knaws on his rawhide. I need a shower.

UUughhh! Monday

It rained most of the day yesterday. Buddy and me stayed inside almost all day except for a short walk in the morning and another one in the evening. I now know that his lunchtime walk isn't really required -- just something nice to do for him.

Continued reading through China, Inc. Now I am nine pages from the end. I am going to read the Henry Petroski engineering book I picked up next.

This morning I got up at 5 am and took Buddy for a walk. Then I crated him up and I went to the gym! It's been almost three weeks!! I did an abbreviated routine - 8 minutes cardio, chest, shoulders, bi's (I should have done tri's), abs, and 8 more minutes of cardio. Oh well, I did the hardest part -- I got up and got back in there.

Back home I had my routine breakfast of eggs and Canadian bacon. Buddy got lamb meal and rice dog food. We are using Iam's® brand now and he seems to like it just as much as Science Diet®. I will keep buying Iam's® then because it is much less expensive.

Today was very busy at work. Only two orders to process, but there were lots of issues and service calls. Fay came in tired - she only slept three hours lastnight! It was a busy day for us both.

I came home for lunch and let Buddy out while I ate a turkey and swiss sandwich. Fay gave me cash to stop at Wendy's on the way back to bring her a chef salad, a side salad, and chicken nuggets.

It rained several times this afternoon. Just light rain. Maybe we are settling into our summer pattern of daily afternoon showers.

Buddy has gotten to where he likes to lay under my computer desk while I am at the computer. I have no problem with it as long as he doesn't unplug anthing!

Weekend Linkfest

• A listing of radio stations that have live audio feed over the Internet.
• The Tritone Paradox and musical perception. Listen to this and learn.
• This is better than the radio traffic report.
• "are you going to tell me that the gravity of the sun is strong enough to keep PLUTO in orbit but not an airplane or a little bird??????" Are these nuts serious?
• Charles and Ray Eames classic short film about scale and the Powers Of Ten.
• Should the manual transmission and clutch be discontinued?
• Would you shop Amazon Groceries? My problem with it (besides the shipping) are the minimum quantities you have to buy.
• The Pros and Cons of synthetic biology.
• Customized chore charts are an easy way to get free labor to teach your children responsibility.
• Here is a good idea for organizing all of those computer accessories.
• Full story about the Bush Power Grab.

Friday !!

When I parked the truck this morning these ducks quickly got into the water and started paddling around. The mother stayed up on the bank to distract me until all of her babies were in the water.

Stayed continuously busy at work today. It was very hot outside and it even felt warm inside. I kept the blinds pulled this morning to keep the heat out.

At lunch today, Debbie came in and got Fay and they left together. No idea where they went. Craig came in while they were gone. Did not get back to the house until 12:45 to let Buddy out. He sure is happy to see me when I come home!

In the afternoon it clouded up real dark like it was going to thunderstorm, but it never did at the office or at home. It probably would have gotten even more humid if it did.

As soon as I got home I took Buddy out for his walk. Then I began to clean the kitchen and bathroom floors, cleaned off the balcony furniture, and I vacuumed. Now that I am sitting down to write this blog I am getting sleepy. I still need a shower.

Tomorrow I want to clean the inside of the truck cab out thoroughly. Vacuum the seats and floors, wipe down the dash and headliner, and clean all of the glass. Maybe I will make it to the pool too.

I have some interesting links to post. I will do that later.

Orlando, FL

Here is a picture of Albert Einstein pushing the soccer ball around the bottom of the aquarium during a break from school. Pretty smart fish!

My pet is doing okay. We are spraying his little tumor with Betagen twice a day and he has stopped scratching it. He has a big diamond shaped patch of skin showing where the vet shaved him! It will take a few months for the bump to go away.

Went to Qwest Diagnostics at 7 am. They were drawing my blood by 7:30 and I was out of there by 7:45. It is better to go early in the morning.

It was another busy day at FER, but we are having a good week for sales. Fay has been nice almost all week. I guess that either the troubles bothering her have lifted, or the doctor has her on another drug.

Sunny and partly cloudy today. It was hot again -- 94°F was the high and it was humid.

I knew my car insurance bill should be here by now. It still hasn't come in the mail, so I had to log into www.usaa.com to view my statement. I guess they mailed it on Tuesday. It is due on July 7. Atleast I know how much I have to scrape together for that.

Orlando, FL

It started to clear up today. It got hot again too. I believe it rained for a few minutes this morning. I believe this because I left the truck windows cracked and there was plenty of evidence of rain inside the doors.

Fay went to visit Matthew Tang at Fairway Restaurant Equipment this morning. When she returned she had $27,000 in orders! It pays to visit your dealers.

At lunch I got Buddy out and brought him back to the office. We had a 3:00 pm appointment at Hiawassee Veterinary Clinic.

At the animal hospital he was following his nose... he could smell the other animals and he could hear the dogs in the kennel in the back. The assistant weighed him first - 43.9 pounds. Then we went to the examining room. I lifted him up onto the steel table and they looked at his teeth, into his ears, listened to his heartbeat and breathing. The doctor and the assistant were "oooo-ing" and "ahh-ing" about what a handsome dog he is.

Then Dr. Love looked at the spot where his RFID chip is installed. She said that the lesion looks like a "button tumor". The got the clippers out and shaved the spot where the lesion is. He did not like the clippers!

She is very sure that it is a button tumor. She said histiocytoma is benign. Young dogs, mostly under three years old, get them. They get as big as a button (about 1 to 2 cm dia), and then over a period of months they slooowwllyy go away. She got some Betagen spray for the area. While we were there they trimmed his front claws. He did not like that either! Before I left they got a six-month supply of Frontline flea and tick control for us too. The total bill came to $172.00!!

The flea and tick medicine was $80, but I think it is worth it. If Buddy get fleas, it will immediately become my problem too. This stuff is very good preventive.

It was not even 4:00 when we left, so I went back to the office with Buddy and finished my work. Middle of the week and we are passing $200k in orders! Another good week for FER.

A few mid-week links to peruse:

• This site put out by the USDA helps you find local farmers markets.
• A guy trained his goldfish to push a soccer ball to the net and retrieve the ball from the bottom of the tank!
• If these wall-mounted aquaria weren't so expensive, I would get one -- they are beautiful!
• The 17,000 Hz cell phone ring tone that adults can't hear, but teens can.
• I can't say I've ever had "penis stew".

Something else I saw on the Internet that was kinda sad -- they are taking the SS France/SS Norway to Goa, India to be broken up. I remember seeing this ship anchored 3 miles off of Wrightsville Beach, NC when I was a teen. They were hosting the Today Show onboard!

Tomorrow morning I am going to go to Qwest Diagnostics to have blood drawn for the liver series. If I get there at 7:00 am, there shouldn't be a line and I won't miss any work!

Orlando, FL

It rained alot today. Got Buddy out for a short walk this morning. Everytime rain would drip on him, he would shake. He does not like to walk through puddles either!

Craig was in Barbourville, KY today at the Jackson dishmachine plant.

This morning I scanned my birth certificate, social security card, drivers license, truck title, DD214 and put them onto my USB thumb drive as encrypted files. This evening I made a text file with all of my account numbers and phone numbers in it. Did same thing, put it on the thumb drive. I will have everything on my keychain in a crisis!

At lunch today I came home to take Buddy out. While I had him out I noticed the fur on his shoulder sticking up and it was red with blood. Dumb dog is scratching at his RFID chip. I called the vet and they made an appointment for him for tomorrow afternoon. The chip might have to be relocated. Wasn't counting on spending $42.50 for the vet visit this month. Just like having a kid.

Another good day for orders at FER... only Tuesday and we are passing $170k!

TS Alberto

The rains from Tropical Storm Alberto continued all night long. It has rained all day here in Orlando. At times the rains have been very heavy with thunder. We really needed the rain. Maybe a good soaking rain will help put the wild fires out.

Alberto is supposed to come ashore tomorrow somewhere along the "Big Bend" portion of Florida's gulf coast. Portions of the gulf coast are under a hurricane watch. Winds are 70 mph and the storm is expected to strengthen to hurricane strength before it comes ashore.

At lunch I went home and took Buddy out of the crate. He was very happy to see me. He was not so happy about the rain. He really does not like to get wet, but he understood that the faster he got his business over with, the faster we would go back inside. So far he does not seem to be bothered by the thunder.

Hopefully all of this rain will be done by the weekend. I really need to clean the truck cab out -- vacuum out the pet hair, clean and Armor-All the dash and headliner, and try to clean the fabric seat upholstery.

Weekend Linkfest

Here are some links I have been saving up the past few days:

The Death Forecast uses averages to predict how long you will live.
Flickr's Favorite Color -- it looks like poop color.
The Color Whore looks like a good utility for finding the hex number for a color.
Vanity Fair article about the history of the blowjob.
Implanted magnets allow people to sense magnetic fields.
The Case for Impeachment by Senator Conyers.
Another good Vanity Fair article - "How Our Professional Liars Led Us To War In Iraq".
How to register an Internet crime with the Department of Justice.
Portable Office will fit on your keychain USB drive.
Trillian IM software can fit too.
Who Killed The Electric Car?
Collected Recipes Of The Damned.

I know it's not a lot. I will work on more for next week.

Weekend

Stayed home all day Saturday. It was so damned hot outside. I cleaned the kitchen and bathroom floors, then I ran the vacuum. Predictably, the dog did not like the vacuum running. After cleaning the floor, I put him in my bedroom while I vacuumed out his bedding.

In the showered and scrubbed out the shower. After that I put the leash on Buddy and took him to the West Orange Dog Park. He had a lot of fun. Too much fun. Rolling in the dirt, wrestling with another dog, letting that dog play bite and slobber on him. As soon as we got home I took his collar and harness off. Those went into the kitchen sink to be cleaned with Woolite. The dog was put into the tub for a quick shower. Man! The dirt that came off of him!

This morning we went for a long humid walk as the sun was rising. Then we hung around the apartment until around noon. After noon I took a shower and got the dog on his leash. We went downtown and walked around Lake Eola. He was better behaved this time. I think this is because it was so hot he didn't have the energy to jump on people. It was very hot.

On the trip back home, the sky began darkening in the south. By the time we reached Hiawassee Road it was raining. It rained hard for awhile.

Tomorrow there is supposed to be a 95% chance of more rain. I guess all of this is from Tropical Storm Alberto - the first named storm of the 2006 season.

Orlando, FL

Blogger has been on the fritz for the past 48 hours. That's making it pretty hard to post anything here. I completed a 5-paragraph post lastnight and for some reason the server did not save it.

Yesterday Buddy stayed home all day by himself. When I went to check on him at lunch I smelled something strange when I opened the door. It smelled like grease or like the pest control man had been there (pest control was in last Friday). On the counter I found the receipt of the maintenance man -- had come to work on my dryer, which was taking 3 or 4 cycles to dry a load. Buddy seemed fine and nobody commented on him being there.

Took him out for about 20 minutes and walked him outside. Woofed down my lunch. Then had to put him back into the crate for the afternoon. He is inside where it is air conditioned, he has the radio playing softly, and I keep some kind of chew toy in the crate with him. I think he sleeps all day while I am gone.

Yesterday evening we took a long walk. He continues to jump up on people and really pull the leash when he sees another animal. He has big scabs on his chest from pulling the harness so hard! Maybe an electric shock collar pet training collar can help.

He is still picking at his food. I crumbled up hard-boiled egg yolk and dropped it into his food and then he really ate! Still, he is only eating a little more than one cup of food a day. I am going to get the lamb and rice flavor that Mrs. Keogh said he liked and I will start mixing that in.

Buddy stayed home today too. I checked on him at lunch and took him outside for a short pee break. He ate a little bit of food and then it was time to put him back into the crate. I could tell he didn't want to go back. This evening I will make it up to him -- we will go to the Dog Park where he can run free, get exercise, and play with other dogs.

FER is doing very well for orders this week -- over $335k! A record-breaking week for the Orlando office.

I am going to try to get to the gym tomorrow morning. After walking Buddy at 5 am, I will close the bedroom door and leave him out of the crate in the living room/kitchen with his food and water. I will only lift at the gym -- that will save 30 minutes. When I return I will make my breakfast, shower, dress, and then put him into the crate for the morning.

He is starting to understand that he goes outside everytime he comes out of the crate. He eagerly comes to me to put the harness on and when I am ready to attach the leash, he sits down when told to. We are working out our routine.

Hell Day - 06/06/06

Today was National Yo-Yo Day. Forget all of that stuff about Satan!

This morning, while I was making my eggs for breakfast, something strange happened. My cellphone beeped to indicate that a text message was left. I looked at it and did not recognize the phone number. The message read, "Hey Sexy! What are you doing tonight?"

I replied, "Walking the dog" and hit the SEND button. Drew Stone from DC flew into Orlando today. I have not seen Drew in like, 8 years. I have talked to him on the phone a little bit, but have not seen him. He is here for a seminar and staying near his company headquarters in Melbourne.

Fay took Debbie out for lunch today because her birthday is Friday.

After lunch today we had two technicians from GCS in the test kitchen taking a test. Buddy kept going back there to sniff them so I had to keep the hallway door shut to keep him up front with me.

Around 2 pm a woman and a boy were knocking on the front door. It turned out to be Didi Palmeri coming to visit Fay! I have spoken with Didi many many times on the phone, but never met her. Buddy kept jumping up on Didi and her boy (he could smell their dogs on them). Because of all of this trouble with him at work, I am going to leave him crated at home tomorrow. I will come home at lunch to take him out, then he will go back to the crate. Maybe we will go to the Dog Park tomorrow evening to exercise him.

Sales continue to be good. It is only Tuesday and we have sales approaching $220k!

I have been collecting some of the things I have read the past few days:

• Two Tampa-area young people were found dead under an 8-foot diameter helium balloon yesterday.
• Now in beta testing -- Google Spreadsheets.
• Rents are expected to rise in 2006 as a consequence of the deflating real estate market.

I know it's not much, but I really haven't had a lot of free time to surf lately.

Fay took off half an hour early complaining of a bad headache.

Drew was supposed to call me after work, but I never heard from him. I had to go to Wal-mart and get a few groceries and then walk the dog, but he did not leave a voice message.

Today is about the future apocalypse.

Where is my jetpack rivers of blood?

Where are my dinner in a pill boils?

Where are my robotic companion locusts?

Where is my nuclear powered levitating house Earth rent in two?

Serious, this was a beautiful sunny warm day in Central Florida. It really was a disappointing Armaggedon.

Orlando, FL

Up early to get Buddy out on his walk. Still trying to decide how I should get his morning walk in around my trip to the gym. I think I should take him on the long walk at 5 am, go to the gym at 5:30, forego the running, just lift, back here by 6:15, make breakfast, shower, take him out for a short "business walk", and then crate him while I am at work.

With the radio quietly playing jazz, the dog will sleep all day.

Come home at lunch and take him out for a quick walk. Then back to the crate. When I come home in the evening, take him out and take him for a long walk. Just a short "business walk" before bed in the evening.

Today, when Fay was playing with him, he began to bark. I was a little dismayed at him barking. I am just afraid that he will bark at home and this will make the neighbors complain to the office about him. So far, he's only barked during play.

Debbie came in today. Buddy really liked her! Kept licking her feet, and trying to go up her skirt with his muzzle!

It was a good day for orders -- over $100k!

Craig returned to the office around 4:30 pm. While I was down the hall with the dog, he dropped a Petco gift card on my desk. "To Buddy, From Smokey" (Smokey is his cat). The card is for $50! How cool is that?

While walking the dog along the pond today, you could see the fish in the water because it was so clear. I was surprised how big some of those fish were !! One was about four feet long and about ten inches thick!!

Buddy is laying in his crate napping right now. Smooth Jazz 103.1 FM is playing on the receiver. Spoiled dog.

Sunday

This morning I took Buddy out for a long walk. Then I showered and changed clothes. We went downtown to Eola Park. There was a Puerto Rican Heritage Parade going on in the streets around the park. Walking Buddy around the lake was tiring because he kept lunging at strangers, birds, and other dogs.

Took him back home. He quickly stopped panting when he got back into the AC.

In the afternoon I called his old owners. I talked to Marie Keogh. She was very happy that Buddy had been adopted. They really liked him, but he was just too "full of life" for them. She told me that they never used a crate with him and he never chewed their furniture. He is housebroken. She told me to forget about buying him a "Kong" toy -- he completely chewed one up. She said just leave chew toys for him if you have to go out. She said they fed him Science Diet Lamb and Rice flavor and that he is a picky eater. She said that when he has chewed up a rawhide bone and has a piece left he will hide it. She has found them in the sofa!

After talking an afternoon walk, Buddy was put into the crate so I could go out. I went to Full Moon Saloon and Studz for awhile. Only saw a couple of people I recognize. Lots of out-of-towners here for Gay Days and some of them were acting obnoxious.

Back to the office tomorrow. Atleast Buddy can come with me this week.

Saturday

Buddy went into his crate at 9:00 pm and he stayed there until 5:00 am. I slept nearby on the chaise in the living room. He did not cry out at all. He got up a couple of times and turned around in the crate, but he was fine all night. I put an old beach towel in there for more bedding.

Took him out at 5:00 for a walk. Back in the house he was free to wander while I cleaned the kitchen and bathroom floors. Briefly crated him while I vacuumed the rug infront of the kitchen.

He does not like my bathroom. When I shower, he is still uncrated, but he stands at the bathroom door waiting for me to come back out. Sometimes he will stick his head around the door to be sure I am still in there.

We took another short walk at 9:00 am, then he went into the crate with some jazz playing on the stereo while I went out to have the oil change done on the truck. I got the free car wash, then they changed the oil and filter. The technician was still pushing the cooling system flush and fill. It normally costs $89. They let me have it for $58.25, so I let them clean the cooling system too.

I picked up new ink cartridges for my printer at Target and got a solid rubber ball and some pigs ears for Buddy at Petco. Then I came home to check on him.

It was about noon. I think he napped the entire time I was gone. I balanced my checkbook and put the stuff away, then I went to get his leash and take him out. We took a quick walk, and then had him get into the truck.

We drove to the West Orange Dog Park in Winter Garden. It is a three-acre park fenced in where you can let your dog run loose with other dogs. Before we were even parked Buddy saw the other animals in the park and got excited. He didn't want to stay in the truck while I got out! He was crawling and pulling me toward the fence!! We got him inside and he had great fun running and sniffing and mounting the other dogs!

I talked with some of the other owners there -- asking them about the park, what they feed their dog, how they control fleas/ticks, doggie stuff like that. If your dog poops, you have to pick up after him. If he becomes aggressive, you need to remove him from the park. Simple. The owners enforce the rules themselves.

Buddy ran and played for an hour and half. He was pretty tired when we left. He was panting alot. It was a hot day and I guess he was just hot. When I got him home I walked him short bit and then put him into the crate while I went to get my haircut. After my haircut I got a sandwich at Subway. This meal was free because the 'sandwich artist' couldn't get her cash register to work!

He was in the crate for two hours. As soon as he came out of the crate we went outside and took a short walk. Then he was free in the apartment while I read, called Mom, and worked at the computer. He took an interest in the rawhide bone this evening. He has one end of it eaten off and is busily pulling that end lobe to pieces and eating it!

I am going out this evening, so I will walk him around 9:00 pm, and then put him into the crate for the evening. It will be nice to go out on a Saturday night for a change.

I tried to post a picture here today, but Blogger doesn't seem to be uploading them very well tonight.

Yeah ! Another Friday !!

Lastnight I took Buddy out to walk one last time and put him into the crate to sleep. He did not like it and he dug at his bedding, but he eventually settled down to sleep. I took a pillow and blanket to the livingroom and slept where he could see me.

Around 1:45 am, he began whining and walking circles in the crate, so I pulled my shoes on, got the leash and took him out. We only went a short distance and all he did was pee. Coming back in, I coaxed him onto the stairs. He came up five steps.... I moved up more... he came up a few more.. soon he was all the way up!

Back into the crate around 2 am, but in a few minutes he began whining again. I let him whine, figuring he was just sad about being in the crate, but after 15 minutes, I got up again and took him out. This time we walked about a quarter mile. He pooped this time. After I put him back inside, he was good and quiet until morning.

He went to work with me today and we kept about one cup of Science Diet in his feed dish and fresh water in his bowl. I had to take him outside four times today. He only peed today. At lunch today, Fay returned with toys for him! One squeaky toy he immediately chewed up and pulled apart. He liked chasing the tennis ball and he likes tug-of-war with the knotted rope.

Sales were mediocre for Orlando this week -- $120k, but Hollywood brought in over $500k!! So, all together, it is a good week for FER.

Craig returned to the office around 4 pm, he met Buddy, and they both got along well. Craig thinks I picked a good one. Craig also told me that starting next month, my salary is going to increase by $200! See? I asked for and basically got, a 10% raise!

Now I should be able to put alittle money aside in savings.

It is lightly raining right now and I can hear thunder. I have folded my laundry. I ran the vacuum, but Buddy kept trying to bite the vacuum cleaner, so I had to put him in the crate while I cleaned the floor. I am playing some Steely Dan on the CD player and he is curled up sleeping on the floor beside my chair here.

Bars promise to be crowded this weekend due to Gay Days. I am so tired already though, I think I would rather scrub the shower out and go to bed early. Tomorrow we are going to leave Buddy in the crate for a couple of hours while I get an oil change and visit the barber. I hope he is quiet and good while I am out. I will keep the blinds pulled and keep it dark in here. Maybe he will sleep.

Orlando, FL

Went to the Orange County SPCA today at lunch. I looked at Buddy some more, then I went to the adoption desk and asked questions about his history. His last owners were old people and he was too energetic for them. They said that he was not housebroken.

Buddy is 11 months old, part beagle and part Australian cattledog. Very friendly and good-natured.

I went back to the cage and one of the volunteers let him out and took him to the yard. He knows how to chase tennis balls, catch them, and bring them back.

He had a few bite marks on his tail and legs from rough playing with the sheppard in the pound with him. Nothing serious.

He already is neutered, already has his shots, and he is already micro-chipped. I had to get a crate for him, and I had to get a leash and harness for him. I bought the heartworm medicine and the flea/tick medicine. Total spent at SPCA was $150.

When I took him from there it was pouring down rain, so he got to ride in the cab of the truck with me. I had to go to the dog clinic and get his rabies tag. The rabies tag takes the place of a license in Orange County.

After that we went back to FER. I phoned ahead and told Fay I was bringing someone back with me. She was cheerful about it. He is such a friendly dog - he went right up to her. I tried to kennel him in his crate but he started crying and Fay said to let him out. So we did, and he went to the Test Kitchen and peed on the tile floor. Atleast it was easy to clean that up!

Fay said that I can bring him to work all next week while we work on his housebreaking. He already knows to do it outside, I just have to reinforce that by taking him out every couple of hours.

After work I took him to Petco. We got him some bedding, a bag of Science Diet, some Pupperoni treats, a brush, some no-more-tears shampoo, some rawhide bones, and some litter bags. After that, I parked the truck in the shade, and went over to SuperTarget to get groceries. He stayed in the cab with the windows down an inch.

With the groceries loaded, I took him out and walked him before we went home. At home the first thing I took upstairs was the crate. Then I took the dog. The dog does not like the stairs. He freaks out and refuses to climb them! I had to carry him upstairs. I put him into the crate while I brought the groceries up and put them away. Then I let him out and let him sniff and explore the apartment.

After I got laundry started and made dinner, I took the dog to the bathroom and closed the door. I put him in the shower and started running the water. He was scared. He began shaking. I got in there with him. Lathered him up good, and then rinsed him off. He made a ring around the tub, so you know he needed it. Then I turned the shower on and showered myself off, ensuring that the dog was rinsed off good. Toweled him off thoroughly before I let him out of the tub. He shook as soon as he was out, but atleast he was already dried off good.

I put the harness back on him and took him out for walk. He peed twice and pooped real good. The pound was feeding him some really cheap stuff because the stool is very wet and running and he had gas. Hopefully this better food will result in a more solid stool.

He sure has a lot of energy! He pulls me along while we are walking and if you get him excited, he really likes to play like a puppy. But when things settle down, he just lays down and naps. That is why he will be fine in the office -- he just lays infront of my desk with his head under the desk watching me.

Apartment said I had to make the $200 non-refundable deposit and $100 refundable deposit all at once. I decided that he will live here illegally for the first month. Also, dogs over 35 pounds are not supposed to be here. Buddy already weighs 45 pounds. I will have to lie for him. I think he will be fine living in the apartment as long as I can make sure he gets enough exercise. That means walks and trips to the dog park!

Today was my one-year anniversary at FER. Tomorrow is already Friday! I am glad. Today was a long day!